Peru’s economic activity grows 4.55% year-on-year in October

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Economic activity grew in Peru by 4.55% in October over the same month of 2020, due to a recovery in almost all sectors after overcoming the recession caused by the pandemic, the government reported Wednesday.

“National production in October 2021 registered an increase of 4.55%, sustained by the positive evolution of most sectors of the economy, except the fishing, construction, and financial sectors,” the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) said in a report.

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The basis for comparison is October 2020, when “several productive activities were suspended, and others were operating with high restrictions” due to the pandemic, INEI recalled.

According to the result, Peruvian production increased from January to October by 15.99% compared to the same period in 2020. The growth in the last 12 months was 12.72%.

The Central Bank forecasts a GDP increase of 13.2% for this year, after raising its initial estimate of 10.5%.

The sectors that showed the greatest dynamism in October were lodging and restaurants (62.11%), transportation (13.31%), commerce (5.14%), and agriculture and livestock (5.16%), according to INEI.

Only the fishing (-33.15%), financial (-6.86%), and construction (-3.10%) sectors had negative balances in October.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, Peru’s GDP contracted 11.12% last year, the worst performance in the previous three decades.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Peru semi-paralyzed its economy for more than 100 days between March 15 and July 1, 2020, which resulted in a recession.

The Andean country came out of recession in the second quarter of this year.